Global Plastic Data Tracker

UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform

Global Plastic Data Tracker

An open-source digital platform hosting global plastic data that reveals critical sources and gaps to inform effective plastic management solutions.

Sydney NSW, Australia

Australia

Nonprofit

Plastic production and waste management contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and mismanaged waste can threaten coastal ecosystems & livelihoods. Plastic production and disposal alone account for 3-5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and, if trends continue, by 2050 plastic could consume 10–13% of the entire remaining carbon budget (CIEL, 2019). In the wake of increasing impacts of climate change, countries are currently updating their National Determined Contributions (NDCs). Integrating plastic-related emissions into climate action plans will be crucial to combatting plastic pollution and mitigating climate change. Many countries, however, are still yet to make this link. Integrating plastic-related emissions into climate action plans requires detailed, structured and harmonised information across the full lifecycle. Our Global Plastic Data Tracker has revealed a persistent lack of this information in nationally reported data on plastic: to date, no country reports data across the entire lifecycle of plastic, and less than 20% of countries publish data on plastics production and consumption. While OECD countries report against approximately 80% of critical plastics metrics, non-OECD countries report only 37%. This data deficiency makes it impossible to establish meaningful national action plans for climate and plastics, track progress, identify effective interventions, or allocate resources efficiently.

The Global Plastics Data Tracker is an open-source digital platform that summarises the global availability and reliability of goverment-reported data on plastic across the lifecycle—from production to pollution. Our Solution is the first global assessment of plastic data availability and the only platform to track country’s progress towards the legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution (global plastic treaty) currently under negotiation. See the Tracker here: https://sustainabledevelopmentreform.github.io/CSDR-plastics-tracker/ The platform provides 1. Interactive visualisation of the data available on plastics across the lifecycle for all 192 UN Member states 2. Direct links to original government sources 3. A data scoring system for every data point, which is based on several criteria including the frequency of reporting, specificity, accessibility and reliability 4. The opportunity for countries and stakeholders to provide data and sources, enabling measurements of global progress Countries can use the Data Tracker to assess their ‘data readiness’ for requirements of the potential global plastic treaty, identify data strengths and identify data gaps or areas of improvement, which can be targeted for capacity building and finance, and learn from countries that are championing data collection and evidence-based decision making for plastics.

The Global Plastics Data Tracker serves governments, institutions, communities and other stakeholders working to manage plastic, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition towards more circular economies. Firstly, by summarising available data in one user-friendly platform, the Data Tracker empowers policy makers and environmental ministries in developing nations who currently lack the resources to establish comprehensive data systems. These officials are tasked with implementing international commitments related to plastic and climate but often lack the fundamental information needed to make evidence-based decisions. Our solution provides them with a clear assessment of their current data landscape and a roadmap for strategic improvements aligned with their capacities. Second, it serves treaty negotiators from developing and small island developing states and least developed countries who are disproportionately impacted by plastic pollution but often lack the technical capacity to engage effectively in international negotiations. The Tracker gives these representatives the evidence-base needed to advocate for equitable implementation frameworks that account for varying national starting points and capacities. Third, it benefits civil society groups by providing them with clear information on where technical assistance is most needed, allowing them to better target capacity-building efforts and resources to countries or communities with significant data gaps.